Author's Note:

This is something of a short chapter, but it is your answer to the cliffhanger. Two more and the epilogue, and I want to warn you that the final chapter and the epilogue will be posted at the same time. So...two more updates.

Never fear, I have many more ideas for fanfictions, so those of you who have me on your author alert list, I have a possible sequel to this story in mind, an official sequel to the 2004 movie (no alternate ending, carrying on as ALW had it, but still E/C), and a Braveheart fanfiction in mind. So do add me to your author alert list, if you haven't already. The great deal of reviews and feedbackI've recieved on this story have encouraged me greatly.

But I'll wait until the last chapter to get mushy.

Enjoy, and please review!

No greater love than this, thata man lay down his life for a friend.

--John 15:13, KJV

Chapter 34: Now She Has Her Peace

It was the curse of Christine's life, it seemed, that with all her actions she was to save one man and damn another.

Erik's head snapped sharply around at her scream. He saw the muscles in Raoul's shoulders tense, saw the fingers wrap themselves more tightly around the hilt of his bloodied sword, and Erik took a step backwards, his own arm drawing back to strike.

And then, suddenly, as Raoul lurched forwards to stab Erik, the deadly point of his sword aimed for the erstwhile Phantom's heart, Giselle was there, still screaming Raoul's name, begging Erik not to kill him, her mind seemingly unhinged in her fear.

Or perhaps, more lucid than ever.

It seemed, for Erik, Christine and Raoul, that time slowed nearly to a standstill in those few moments, when Fate played her final, diabolical card, and threw every predictable outcome to the wind.

Giselle threw herself between the two men, her eyes fixed on Erik, full of pleading.

But it was far too late for change and apologies.

Raoul and Erik both tried to deflect their blows, tried to avoid striking the girl who had so carelessly thrown herself in harm's way. Erik stepped back again, nearly unbalancing himself. His sword only grazed Giselle, cutting deeply into her arm and eliciting a cry of pain that seemed to go straight to his heart.

Raoul's sword struck her high in the back, even as he tried to halt the blow that would never touch the man it was intended for. It slid through her thin frame, and the scream of anguish that elicited from her lips would haunt him until his dying day.

His eyes went wide with horror, the breath coming from him in short, shallow gasps as the knowledge of what he had just done nearly unmanned him. He snatched the sword from her body and threw it violently aside. He slumped to the earth, choking on tears and bile as he turned away from the dying girl and vomited harshly into the dirt.

Erik rushed forwards, catching Giselle before she hit the ground, tears running freely from his eyes.

He wanted to rail curses at Raoul, wanted to strike him down and choke the life from his worthless body. Rage boiled up within him, hot and lusting for blood, but he ignored the writhings of his soul and looked down at Giselle, her fists clenched by her sides, tears of pain streaming down her face.

She opened her eyes, and Erik realized, to his horror, that she knew exactly what she had done. There was no shock, no terror in her eyes. What had seemed a rash and mad course of action had been a sacrifice, pure and simple. She had sacrificed her life to save Raoul.

Giselle smiled weakly. "You are not always right, you know." she whispered, as though to speak took far too much strength.

Erik raised an eyebrow.

"I did it to save both of you." She coughed harshly, a fine spray of blood staining her lips. "Raoul showed me that I could love, that my soul was not so jaded, my heart not so broken that I could not feel the same as anyone else. And you…" She coughed again, the blood leaving her quickly, cutting her time on Earth far shorter than it should ever have been. "You showed me that there was more to life than lies and deceit, more than suffering. You showed me that there was goodness still, and beauty, and love."

Her eyes grew glassy now, and suddenly they opened wide, a small smile curving her lips. "There is forgiveness, Erik!" she cried, the sudden joy on her face belying the pain in her body, wracked as it was with the spasms of death. "Maman!" she whispered, and Erik knew that she saw her mother, the name written on the small, poor gravestone in the cemetery.

He knew that Giselle had found Heaven.

She turned bright, nearly unseeing eyes to Erik. "She does not know!" she whispered joyfully, as the final strains of warmth seeped from her body. "She does not know!"

A flutter of the lashes, and the skin of her face and arms grew cold to Erik's touch. He ran a gentle hand over her face, closing her beautiful eyes forever.

He looked away, tears falling freely and unashamedly from his eyes. Christine pried herself from where she had stood, frozen, and rushed to Erik's side, knowing that there was no comforting him, but determining to try.

"Now she has her peace." he murmured softly, reaching out and drawing Christine to him, stifling his sobs in her hair. "She has her peace, and she has given me mine."

He saw Christine's quizzical stare, and he smiled ruefully through his tears. "I will tell you all, and soon, Christine. But not yet."

He stood to his feet, looking disdainfully at Raoul, who had gathered his wits at last and was standing shakily. "She loved you, you know."

Raoul turned away, the knowledge of this already heavy on his heart. "It is not my fault." he managed, tears clogging his speech. "She knew from the beginning why I took her. There were no illusions."

Erik took a step forwards, violence close to the surface. "It was all an illusion!" he roared, clenching his fists at his sides. "You took her from Hell, showed her affection and gentleness for the first time in her life, and you expected her not to love you for it!"

"She was only a whore!"

"She was an angel!" Erik screamed, fury lacing every word. "And now, she truly is!"

Christine grabbed Erik's arm. "Stop it! Will you make her death needless?" She looked at Raoul. "Go, Raoul. Get out of here, before you do more damage than you have already done."

The young Viscomte looked from Giselle's prone form, to Erik, to Christine, and a measure of calm passed over him.

It is hypothesized that, while great tragedy is often the cause of madness, great tragedy can also be the cure of madness. So it was with Raoul. The full shock of what he had done heavy upon him, he looked at Christine and nodded slowly.

"I will go. And I will never speak of this to either of you again. But know this, Christine. I love you, have always loved you, and it is you that I will love until the day I die. Every wrong that I have done, every sin that I have committed, it was all done for love of you. Let that be your cross, Christine. You say his sins are absolved through your love, but I ask you, what of mine?"

And with that, he turned and left, not speaking another word.

-

They took Giselle's body to Christine's room in the opera house, calling Madame Giry in and telling her quickly all that had transpired.

Erik left while Christine and Madame Giry began to tend to Giselle's body, stripping away the dirty gown and replacing it with a clean nightgown from Christine's wardrobe. They cleaned all the blood from her body, wincing at the terrible wound that Raoul had delivered.

"Raoul did this?"

Christine nodded.

"You must be kind to him, Christine, when you see him again. This is a terrible burden to carry, to be responsible for the death of a young woman such as this."

"It is, Madame. But for Giselle…"

Madame Giry paused and looked at Christine, her eyes curious.

"Death was a mercy for her."